Poll Positions

The Wildcats, who fell to Connecticut last Monday and Pittsburgh on Sunday, slipped from third to eighth in the poll of 31 Division I coaches. Kansas (26-1) picked up 30 first-place votes to remain in the top spot. Kentucky (26-1) picked up the other first-place vote and is No. 2 nationally.

Purdue (23-3), Syracuse (25-2) and Duke (23-4) all moved up a spot into the top five. Also moving up one spot were No. 6 Kansas State (22-4) and No. 7 West Virginia (21-5). Villanova is trailed by Ohio State (21-7), which moved up three spots to No. 9, and Butler (25-4), which moved up three spots to No. 10.

Brigham Young (25-3) and New Mexico (25-3) are No. 11 and No. 12. They meet Saturday in Provo, Utah, with the winner having the inside track at the Mountain West Conference regular-season title.

Georgetown (18-7) and Michigan State (21-7) both fell three spots to Nos. 13 and 14. The Spartans, who lost to Ohio State on Sunday, visit Purdue next Sunday.

Gonzaga fell six spots to No. 15 after losing at Loyola Marymount last week.

Also on the schedule this week, Syracuse hosts Villanova (Saturday, 9 p.m. ET, ESPN) in a battle of top-10 teams.